Sunday, 24 February 2013

I'm currently taking a planned leave of absence and will be back in the summer time. After that, things will change - for the better, Kitschen Sink will become a more exclusive brand.

What's happening?

I'm studying two nights a week at the moment and that means other evenings I need to read and work on assignments or revise, and my other time I am hanging out with friends and family.

What's going to change?

Having a busy lifestyle - working full time and doing Kitschen Sink on the side, making time for the many important people in my life, at the moment I don't have time to keep up on the paperwork required to have shops selling my work. When a shop sells your work they can either buy lots off you at once for a really cheap price per piece (but lots of money in my bank account at once!) - this is called 'wholesale', or I can hand it over to them and when they sell something they take a percentage of the price it sold for. At the moment, most shops want to do the latter, and that means I have to keep track of what stock each shop has, what they have sold, how much they owe me, if they have paid me, how much more to send them. ore and more they expect the maker to do this, and I just don't have time on top of working - heck, that means there's no time to design new things, or to tell you about it!

So from now on, I will mostly be selling to you direct. At events, and online. So it'll be more exclusive. Some shops will still stock my work if they choose to buy wholesale.

When will I be back?

Well, I plan to sell at the Easter Reetsweet at the Corn Exchange (Leeds) event, but otherwise I will be making a return after June - that's when I hand in a bunch of coursework and have the summer off studying.

Can we keep in touch somehow?

Yes! I am not disappearing. I will still be pinning on Pinterest, Facebooking, and Tweeting. You can keep up to date with what I am being inspired by for fresh new collections on my return.

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

Craft fairs, markets and shopping events are a great way of promoting
your brand on a budget, getting feedback from your customers and, of
course, selling your product face to face. But outdoor markets and fairs bring their own challenges - some you might not even think of before the event. Here's my seven top tips for getting to the end of the day without a drama or frost bite:

Acrylic cardigan, pegged down products and cling-filmed pitch sides are just a few of my Winter market survival tips

♥ Wear wool not cotton, and layer up
This goes for socks, hats, scarves and your cardigan. It's going to be cold, and cotton keeps you cool, so make sure your knitwear is either wool or acrylic. Even if it looks thickly knit, cotton won't keep you warm when the temperatures plummet!

♥ Take your door mat
Yeah, you heard right. A scrap of carpet to stand on will help to keep your feet warmer behind your pitch!

♥ Get a money belt
The outdoor market I sell at is in Leeds City Centre on a busy shopping street where shoppers have access behind the pitches. Don't leave a cash tin unattended, get yourself a money belt that constantly strapped to you.

♥ Bring a big Thermos flask
I just upgraded from 0.5l to a full litre. I'm a tea fiend anyway but hot drinks will help keep you warm and satisfied. Buying lots of coffee from the shops adds up.

♥ Build a den with cling film
Don't forget if you have a metal frame pitch to take some cling film to wrap around the sides to create a wind and rain break.

♥ ...then pin or peg stuff down
Even when the wides of your pitch has been wrapped up wind might still take off your lighter things! I use pins to hold things down, and something tie elastic to my table then use clothes pegs to hold them. To stop your table cloth taking off, get some of these super strong spring clamps.

♥ Bring as much stock as you can manage
Keep surplus stock under your table. Certainly at the city centre you go through lots, so keep topping up your display as you sell.

Friday, 2 November 2012

Apologies for the prolonged leave of absence! I've been up to all sorts - this was October:

♥ I kicked off the month with a photo shoot with Leeds Roller Dolls to promote our new collaboration. See the full set!

♥ One of my customers wore her name necklace on the local news - here is Lizzie promoting her underwater exhibition. Her necklace says 'Lawless'. You can buy your own in the online shop - they make great Christmas gifts!

♥ I found out I was accepted to sell at BUST London Craftacular on 16th December at York Hall in Bethnal Green. It's freakin awesome and the hippest craft fair that exisits in the actual world, so you should come along if you can make it.

♥ I took part in Leeds Digital Fashion Week by writing a few blog posts: read a post about me by Hebe writer Stacey.

♥ I spent three days in Edinburgh for my best pal's hen weekend. My vintage dress went down a real treat!

♥ I visited Amsterdam for a weekend - it's a beautiful city. We went to a huge flea market then realised we had no cash, so sadly I couldn't buy these lovely dolls!

♥ I went for a delicious burger at Brooklyn bar in Leeds - including several cocktails! Also a delicious Persian kebab and ordered far too much food!

♥ We launched the Leeds Roller Dolls collaborative collection, and I also had a stall at their last home bout of the season.

♥ I saw my favourite band live, Everything Everything. They were awesome, you can watch their latest video here.

Black and white£19 If you wish to include red,orange, yellow, green, blue or pink £21If you want to include gold sparkle£23

✔
please don’t make an order unless you intend to pay :) if you’re
thinking about ordering in the future, please wait and order when you’re
ready.2)
I will send you a proof of the design, confirmation of the date of
cutting and a Paypal email so you can pay. If you order within 10 days
of the cutting date you will be sent a Paypal instruction for the full
amount. If you are ordering ahead, you need only pay 50% until the
necklace is ready to post.

✔ payment must be made to confirm your order - no payment, no cutting, no necklace!✔ your order will be posted to the address on your Paypal account - make sure it’s up to date!✔ you don’t need a Paypal account to pay - just a debit or credit card. Follow the instructions in the email.✔ if you paid a 50% deposit you will be reminded to pay the balance before it is posted out.

3) Your super necklace will be on its way in a jiffy - with a free surprise too!